Throughout
history, many people have made lasting contributions to the
world of hostas. In these pages, we hope to pay tribute to
some of them. Our concentration will be primarily on those
who have introduced or registered new cultivars, found new
species, promoted the genus or added to our knowledge about
this, the Number One selling herbaceous perennial plant in
the U.S.

We are always looking to expand these listings
and to keep them up to date. So, if you have new information
or know
of someone who you think should be included, please
send us their name and a brief description of their
contributions to the World of Hostas. Thanks.

A
student of
Linnaeus,
Thunberg was a medical doctor, botanist and plant explorer
traveling with the Dutch East India Company. In addition to
Japan, he explored parts of
Africa and other regions of
Asia for new plants to bring back to
Europe. Later
in life, he was a professor at the University of Upsala
succeeding Linnaeus.

He wrote the classic book on Japanese plants, "Flora Japonica"
which was published in 1784.
Thunberg is credited
with introducing Rosa rugosa from Japan to Europe.

Thunberg visited
Japan in 1775 and sent herbarium specimens back to Sweden
which included some of the first
Hosta plants
such as H. 'Lancifolia'
and H. 'Undulata'.

Plants associated with his name include the genus, Thunbergia,
and species such as: